Haganah

Haganah was a Jewish defense force in Mandatory Palestine that was active from 1921 to 1948. The force was established as a secret organization to defend Jewish settlements from Arab attacks. It became gradually accepted by the British authorities as a supplementary police force, coming under the ontrol of the Histadrut, the General Federation of Jewish Labor. During the period of Arab-Jewish unrest from 1936 to 1939, it acquired a general staff and developed close links with the Jewish Agency. During World War II, it contributed units to the British 8th Army, but was also involved in organizing illegal Jewish immigration from Europe. It condemned the terrorist activities of the Stern Gang and Irgun, and in 1947, when the British prepared to leave Palestine, it took on the defense of Jewish Palestine against Arab troops. Some 60,000 strong, it formed the nucleus of the army of the new state of Israel.